


Norrington's Hunch (Or Something To That Effect)

by whensheflies



Category: Pirates of the Caribbean (Movies)
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-26
Updated: 2015-04-26
Packaged: 2018-03-25 21:49:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 990
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3826264
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whensheflies/pseuds/whensheflies
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Norrington's a little voyeur. Elizabeth isn't picky. Jack is well...Jack. Set sometime during Dead Man's Chest. Because that's when all the beautiful UST is at it's best.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Norrington's Hunch (Or Something To That Effect)

**Author's Note:**

> originally posted on lj.

She stood on the deck of the ship, clutching the palm-sized object, heaving sighs of frustration to the vast and empty ocean before her.

He saw her there, alone, silhouetted by the full moon against the clear midnight sky, and he realized that he no longer loved her. He still saw her flawless beauty that could draw men from all corners of the world to her, but he no longer felt that pull. He used to love her (or so he thought). He used to dream of loving her, possessing her… his wife.

But James Norrington knew that Elizabeth Swann could be tamed by no ordinary man. And he was only that. Elizabeth was like the sea, strong, uncontrollable, and forever changing. He could never harness that. And she would never have him. He doubted that young Will Turner would be able to capture the free-spirited, independent woman either. She was too good for him. Turner was foolish and naïve, which was exactly why Norrington was on the Pearl with Elizabeth in the first place. Only Turner would be stupid enough to trust a pirate and then get himself sworn into a lifetime of service with Davey Jones. He did not understand why Elizabeth cared so much for the whelp when she could have so much more.

But then again, Norrington had the slightest suspicion that Elizabeth’s feelings for Turner were not as desperate as she made them out to be. After all, under the guide of Jack Sparrow’s unusual compass, they had been sailing for days and there was still no sign of Turner or the Flying Dutchman. If Turner was what Elizabeth wanted the most, then why hadn’t they found him yet?

He watched, disguising himself behind two large barrels of gunpowder, as Elizabeth grew more distressed. She shook the compass in her hand and her voice was carried to him on a warm gust of air.

"It doesn’t make any sense."

"It must be broken."

Norrington stared as she raised her arm and made to throw it into the ocean, but he also noticed a dark figure emerge from the shadows as Elizabeth did this. Jack Sparrow’s hand grasped Elizabeth’s wrist before she could release the compass. Norrington noticed a flicker of something pass in Elizabeth’s expression of surprise when she saw Jack.

"Best not to be doing that, love." Sparrow said, but Norrington could not see his face.

"I wasn—I—" Elizabeth stammered.

Jack started to pull Elizabeth’s arm down towards him. "Let’s have a look at this, shall we?" his voice was barely a whisper. Norrington had to strain his ears to listen.

But Elizabeth was too quick. She snapped the compass shut and pulled her arm away from Jack. "It’s nothing. It doesn’t work. It couldn’t possibly—" Norrington thought she sounded close to tears.

"It works." Jack said shortly, and then his tone changed slightly, "What are you doing out here? It’s late."

Elizabeth tucked the compass into the folds of her nightgown and smiled slightly at Jack. "Same reason you’re here, I suppose. I couldn’t sleep." She turned away from Jack, leaning on the side of the ship, looking out towards the sea. Norrington had to hold his breath to keep himself from swearing at what he saw next.

The wind blew Elizabeth’s long hair wildly about her face and back. She was too lost in her thoughts to notice Jack, unseen behind her, tangle a lock of her hair around his dirt-caked fingers.

"I just can’t sleep when I have so much on my mind. Finding this chest is turning out to be more difficult than I expected. Especially when your bloody compass won’t work. I don’t know why we can’t just find Will. That’s all I want, that’s all." Elizabeth spoke to the sea.

_I beg to differ_ , Norrington thought dryly as he watched Jack lean in closer to Elizabeth, no doubt, smelling the tendril of hair wrapped around his fingers. But Elizabeth had turned around abruptly and Jack had agilely stepped away before she had noticed his actions.

Norrington’s brow furrowed with suspicion when Elizabeth looked into Jack’s eyes, her expression so open and trusting. It was the way one looked at someone when they were…no. Norrington could not believe it to be true. Not a pirate. Absolutely not.

"What do you want most, Jack?" she asked earnestly. Norrington tried not to roll his eyes when he saw her pull her lower lip through her teeth. And to his dismay, Jack was falling for it.

Jack took a step closer to Elizabeth, leaving barely enough space for breathing between them. "What do I want? What do _I_ want," he murmured, tapping his fingers against his face, all the while moving closer to Elizabeth, " _…most_?" His last word was practically spoken into Elizabeth’s slightly parted lips.

Norrington was almost sure he was going to be sick, but he could not bring himself to look away.

"Jack…" Elizabeth whispered. She was about to slide her hands onto his shoulders when he pulled away suddenly and smiled a brazen grin, his gold teeth catching the light of the moon.

"What I want most," Jack said, wagging his fingers into the air as he sauntered away from Elizabeth, "is my bed. And a good bottle of rum to tuck me in."

Norrington felt a chuckle start to stir deep within him as he watched Jack disappear into the ship. He watched Elizabeth’s face turn from seduced to shocked to infuriated in a matter of seconds. So, it was the dastardly pirate that had ensnared Elizabeth’s heart, not the useless whelp they were trying to rescue. And while it did nothing to ease the pain of Norrington’s own bereavement, it gave him a twisted feeling of pleasure that Elizabeth had chosen a man who would never be able to return her feelings.

Because, after all, a pirate’s first and only love was the sea.


End file.
